Prep Rally

Wyverns and Winged Beavers and Noises, Connecticut mascots oh my!

What in the blue blazes is a Wyvern? To find out, one need only travel to Connecticut. West Hartford to be more specific.

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The Wyvern, in more comic mascot form — David B. Newman Photography, Kingswood Oxford School

That’s where the West Hartford (Conn.) Kingswood Oxford School sports teams compete as the Wyverns. No, the school didn’t make it up, it just saved it from the metaphorical historic mythological dustbin by giving it a use as a particularly unusual mascot.

According to the school, the Wyvern is a sign of “strength, leadership, and nobility.” That’s pretty much what it looks like, too, which USA Today accurately describes below:

“[It has] the head of a dragon, a body with wings, the tail of a snake, talons of an eagle, and only two legs.”

Amazing, the Wyvern was an early pick for Kingswood Oxford, as the school adopted it as an official mascot shortly after 1916, in its very first formative years, perhaps inspired by the roots of the mythical animal’s name in the French word wyvere, which meant both “viper” and “life” in different interpretations (evidently there weren’t too many times when people in medieval France wrote about “life vipers”).

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Mascot Quest 2013 — Flickr

Now, the Wyvern lives on -- fictionally, of course -- in all the teams at Kingswood Oxford, setting the pace for great mascots across the Nutmeg State.

Other Great Connecticut Mascots of Note:

The Wyvern may not be beatable, but Connecticut has plenty of other great mascots, too. These are chief (note the lowercase “C” here; no puns allowed) among them, particularly the first gem:

If ever there was a state worthy of having two “best” mascots, it might be Connecticut, because Avon (Conn.) Old Farms School plays as the Winged Beavers. Yes, the Winged Beavers. You read that correctly. Winged Beavers. We don’t think we need to say any more here.